Patrick Kelly is Vice President at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). He leads many projects applying research and policy analysis to link higher education with the critical needs of states and their residents. Among these are: overall strategic planning to improve higher education policy, finance and outcomes-based funding, system-wide and institutional accountability, and linking postsecondary education to workforce needs and economic development. Patrick has led many of the analytical efforts to set educational attainment goals across the nation, including those for the Obama administration, the Lumina Foundation, and many of the states that have followed suit. He presents his work to a variety of audiences including state policymakers, State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEOs) and their staffs, higher education researchers and policy analysts, and a variety of other stakeholders.
Before joining NCHEMS in February 2002, Patrick worked for six years at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. His most recent position at the council was Senior Associate for Information and Research. He worked with higher education leaders to design performance metrics to measure progress toward postsecondary education reform in Kentucky, conducted research studies for statewide higher education policy initiatives, and coordinated the analysis and reporting of data and information in support of many other council projects. Prior to working at the council, Patrick was a Research Associate at the National Center for Family Literacy in Louisville, Kentucky.
Patrick has a Ph.D. in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville where he also earned a Master’s degree in Sociology. His undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His areas of specialization and interest include research and statistical methodology, policy analysis, and program evaluation.